Refrigerator.



A. FINK.

REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1913.

Patented May 11, 1915.

we: umzms PETERS C0 PHOTO-LITHCL, WASHINGTON. 0.,6

a ABS ATE QFFIQE ALBERT ZEINK, or LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR-OF ONE-HALF r0 ADAM LAYER, or LQS .ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

REFRIGERATOR.

Specification of Letters Fatent.

Patented May 11, 1915.

Application filed June 23, 1913. Serial N 0. 775,422.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, ALBERT FINK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented a new and useful Refrigerator, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to improvements in refrigerators of the type in which the evaporation of moisture is utilized for the purpose of reducing the temperature within the refrigerators lower than the outside atmosphere, so that foods placed therein may be kept a reasonable length of time, and more particularly relates to the provision of means in such a refrigerator whereby a supply of drinking water may be kept therein, the refrigerator shown being an embodiment of improvements in the refrigerator shown and described in my former application for patent filed May 28th, 1913,

and bearing Serial Number 770,509.

An object of my present invention is to provide a refrigerator of the class described, with a drinking water reservoir provided with means whereby the Water in the reservoir may be kept cool.

A further object of my invention is to provide a refrigerator of the class described in which water may be simultaneously distributed to the drinking water reservoir and to the walls of the refrigerator for evaporation.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only: Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a refrigerator embodying a form-of my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the upper portion of the refrigerator shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the refrigerator shown in Fig. '1 taken on line :0 a2 on Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the drinking water reservoir and cooling means-therefor. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the filter cup showing'a portion of the distributing pan in section.

The refrigeratorconsists of an inner casing 1 inclosing a food chamber 2, which casing 1 has spaced apart therefrom an outer casing 3, supported in a suitable frame 4, to the upper end of which is hinged a top or cover 5, suitable hinges being provided as indicated at 6. The top 5 is provided with an upwardly extending flue-7 covered by means of a wire screen 8. The inner casing 1 is covered on the outside thereof with absorbent material, preferably a sheet of asbestos indicated at 9 on the sides thereof, a sheet of asbestos 10 on the bottom thereof, and a sheet of asbestos 11 on the top thereof, the sheet of asbestos 10 resting on a screen 10 mounted on the frame 4. The space between the inner casing l and the outer casing 3 in the. form shown is divided into a series of fines 12 by means of a zig zag partition 13, preferably formed of wire screen, which screen is covered on one side thereof by means of a sheet of asbestos or other suitable absorbent material 14.

15 designates a door hinged to the front wall of the frame 4, which door is provided with an inner casing 16 and an outer casing 17 spaced apart therefrom, the inner casing 16 being covered with a sheet of absorbent material 18 and the space between the inner and outer casing of the door formed into a series of fines by means of the'zig zag screen 13 and absorbent material 14 thereon, in the same manner as the walls of the refrigerator hereinbefore described.

The refrigerator above described consists of an inner casing forming the food chamber 2 covered with absorbent material, which absorbent material is exposed to the atmosphere through the fines 12, so that moisture in the absorbent material supplied thereto, as hereinafter described, may be evaporated and thereby cause a cooling action which reduces the temperature in the food chamber. Seated upon the layer of absorbent material 11 on the top of the inner casing 2 is a drinking water reservoir 20, the upper edge of which terminates in an inwardly and upwardly extending flange 21 adapted to form a seat, upon which rests a shouldered portion 22 of a distributing pan 23.

24 designates a cooling pan, the bottom of which rests upon the upper edge of the distributing pan 23 and is provided with a downwardly extending flange 25, which extends over the upper edge of the distributing pan 23 to insure seating of the cooling pan 24 on the pan 23. The cooling pan 24 is provided with a layer of absorbent material 26, preferably asbestos or similar material, on the top of which is placed a wire screen 27. The bottom of the cooling pan 24 is provided with an opening 28 and the absorbent material 26' and the screen 27 are also provided with openings 29 and 30, re-

spectively, which register with the opening 28 in the bottom of the cooling pan. The top 5 of the refrigerator is provided with an opening 31 directly above the opening in the cooling pan above described.

The distributing pan 23 is provided with a central dished portion 32 which extends downwardly below the flange 21 of the reservoir and is provided with acentral opening 33 surrounded by a downwardly extending circular flange 34, which flange 34 is provided with bayonet slots 35 adapted to receive pins 36, which extend outwardly from each side of a filter member 37. The filter member 37 consists of a circular box 38 open at the top and bottom and provided with an upper screen 39 and a lower screen 40, which are provided therebetween with filtering material 41 which maybe of any suitable substance, such as filtering gauze orlike substance. Y

The distributing pan 23 is provided with a trough 42, which extends around the up per edge of the central dished portion 32, the trough 42 being provided at its outer lower edge with a series of perforations 43, which are adapted to distribute water, as hereinafter described, to the absorbent material in the walls of the refrigerator.

For the purpose of readily removing the distributing pan and the cooling pan from the refrigerator, as may be necessary for the purpose of cleaning the same, the distributing pan 23 is provided with two up wardly extending handles 44, which extend through slots 45 formed in the bottom of the cooling pan 24. The absorbent material 26 in the cooling pan and the screen 27 be ing also provided with slots to permit the handles 44 to extend therethrough to a point above the top of cooling pan 24, so thatthe handles 44 may be grasped and the cooling pan 24 and distributing pan 23 lifted bodily together off from the reservoir 20 and in such manner removed from the refrigerator, it being understood that it first is necessary to raise the top 5 of the refrigerator. The reservoir 20 is provided with outlet means which consists of a pipe 46 which extends through the walls of the refrigerator to the front thereof, the outer end of the pipe 46 being provided with suitable hand operative valve means 47 so that water may be withdrawn from the res ervoir through such valve. It is to be noted that the absorbent material 9 on the inner casing 2 extends upwardly about the walls of the reservoir 20 and that the reservoir 20 rests upon the layer of absorbent material 11 on the top of the food chamber for the purpose of cooling the contents in the reservoir.

The operation of the refrigerator heretofore described is as follows: A quantity of Water is poured through the opening 31 in the top 5 of the refrigerator and passes downwardly through the opening 28 in the cooling pan into the dished portion 32 of the distributing pan. A portion of the water as it passes through the opening 28 in the cooling pan is splashed on the absorbent material 26 in the cooling pan and spreads thereon until the absorbent material in the cooling pan is thoroughly saturated. The upper face of the absorbent material in the cooling pan is a distance below the upper edge of the cooling pan, so that any excess of water in the cooling pan will run downwardly through the opening 28 therein into the distributing pan 23. hen the dished portion 32 of the distributing pan is filled with water the excess water flows over the edge 42 of the dished portion into the trough 42, from which trough 42 water is distributed through the perforations 43 to the absorbent material 9 on the walls of the inner casing 1 of the food chamber 2, which water spreads over the absorbent material 14 on the partitions 13 in the walls of the refrigerator. A portion of the water distributed through the perforations 43 from the distributing pan 23 along the front wall of the refrigerator is delivered into a trough 49 above the door of the refrigerator, the trough 49 being provided with perforations 50 which deliver therefrom into a channel 51 at the top of the door 15. The channel 51 is also provided with perforations 52 which deliver water to the absorbent material in thedoor of the refrigerator. The distribution of water from the distributing pan through the perforations 43 is such that all of the absorbent material in the walls of the refrigerator becomes saturated and being open to the atmosphere through the fines in the walls of the refrigerator, evaporating action takes place, consequently a cooling action accompanies the evaporating action and the food chamber ofthe refrigerator, and the reservoir 20 and contents thereof, are cooled. The reservoir 20 is provided with a supply of water from the dished portion 32 of the distributingpan, which water passes through the filter member 37 from the distributing pan '23 to the reservoir 20, from which the same may be'drawn through the outlet pipe 46 and valve 47 The upper portion of the refrigerator and reservoir 20 therein is further cooled by the evaporation of water from the absorbent material 26 in the cooling pan 24. In placing water in the refrigerator should the drinking water reservoir become full any surplus water would flow over the edge'42 of the dished portion 32 of the distributing pan, thence through perforations 43 to theabsorbent material in the walls of the refrigerator.

What I claim is:

1. A refrigerator comprising an inner casing forming a food chamber, absorbent material in the walls of said refrigerator about said food chamber, a drinking Water reservoir on the top of said food chamber, a Water distributing pan above said drinking vvater reservoir supported thereon, said distributing pan having a dished central portion, a filter member in the bottom of said dished portion adapted to deliver Water from said dished portion to said Water reservoir, said distributing pan having a series of perforations in the side thereof, arranged to deliver Water to the absorbent material in the Walls of said refrigerator, and cooling means above said distributing pan.

2. In a refrigerator, a drinking Water reservoir, absorbent material on said drinking Water reservoir, a distributing pan above said drinking Water reservoir, said distributing pan having a dished portion arranged to deliver a quantity of Water to said drinking Water reservoir, and said distributing pan having a series of perforations in the side thereof adapted to distribute Water to the absorbent material on the Walls of said drinking Water reservoir.

3. In a refrigerator, a drinking Water reservoir, absorbent material on the Walls thereof, a Water distributing pan seated on said Water reservoir and forming a top therefor, said pan having a dished central portion, a filter member in the bottom of said dished portion, means whereby Water is passed from said dished portion through said filter mem her into said reservoir, means in said distributing pan for distributing Water to the absorbent material on the Walls of said reservoir, a cooling pan on the top of said distributing pan having an opening in the bottom thereof, absorbent material having a similar opening in said distributing pan, and means for simultaneously removing said cooling pan and said distributing pan from said reservoir.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 13th day of June, 1913.

ALBERT FINK.

In presence of FRED A. MANSFIELD, FRANK L. A. GRAHAM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of IEatent- Washington, D. G. 

